Recorder.



No. 861,972. PATEK-TED JULY 30, 1907. F. GRAZIANOi RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.30.1906.

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No. 861,912. I PATENTED JULY so., 1907. I'. GRAZIANO.

RECORDER.

APPLIMTION rum AUG.3o.19oo.

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" FRANK GRAZIANO, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

RECORDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application filed August 30, 1906. Serial No. 332,664.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK GRAZIANO, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented new; and useful Improvements in Recorders, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to recorders or recording apparatus; and itcontemplates the provision of a reliable electro-mechanical apparatusfor automatically recording the time at which each oi the pluralityT ofcars of a railroad passes a certain predetermined point, this with aview of causing the conductors of the cars to maintain a properschedule.

With the foregoing in mind, the invention will be fully understood fromthe ollowing description and claims when the same are read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich:

Figure l is a plan View illustrative of the clock and theelectro-mechanical devices embraced in the appa ratus constituting thepresent and preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 2 is adiagrammatic view illustrating the revoluble dial of the clock, one ofthe electro-magnets and its armatiue, and the battery and switcharranged in an electric circuit with the electromagnet. Fig. 3 is a viewillustrating in end elevation and as open the casing containing thetrack parts of my apparatus, and also illustrating in properjuxtaposition the car device for opening the casing and the car devicefor closing one switch. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showingthe casing as closed. Fig. 5 comprises disconnected views oi a eardevice for closing a switch in the casing, and the said casing; thecasing being shown in transverse section and without cover sections.Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view illustrating one ofthe norvmallyopen switches and the lever through which the same is closed. Fig. 7 isa broken plan view oi the casing shown in Fig. 5, and: Fig. 8 is abroken section of said casing, taken in the plane indicated by the line8 8 of Fig. 5.

Similar letters and numerals designate corresponding parts in all of theviews of the drawings, referring to which:

A is a casing designed to be arranged crosswise in the bed of a railwayand between the rails thereof at any desired point. The said casing isprovided at its top with equi-distant grate bars B extending in thedirection of the length of the railway, and it is designed to contain aplurality oi electric switches O, and a plurality of switch-closinglevers D which rest with their upper ends between the bars B, and arenormally held in and returned to the positions shown by springs Einterposed between their opposite edges and the adja cent walls of thecasing. The switches C and levers D correspond in number to the carsemployed in the operation o the railway; and the switches respectivelycomprise a lower member l, and an upper, resilient member 2 whichnormally springs and rests away from member l.

Each ofthe cars of the railway is to be equipped with a device F bestshown in Fig. 5; the device F of car No. l being positioned to engagethe lever D at the left of Fig. 8, the device F of car No. 2 beingpositioned to engage the next lever D, and so on throughout the seriesof cars and switch-closing levers. The car device F preferably, thoughnot necessarily, comprises an upper member 3 iiXed with respect to thetruck or other suitable part of the car and having a forward abutment 4and a lateral stud 5, and a lower member 6 notched at 7 and pivoted andmovable vertically on the stud 5. In virtue of this when the carcarrying the device F travels over the case A in the direction indicatedby the large arrow in Fig. 5, the member 6 will obviously strike androck its complementary lever D so as to close the electric switch belowsaid lever. When, however, the car is backed or moved over the case A inthe direction opposite to that indicated by the large arrow, the member6 ofthe car device will trail and move upward and hence will ride idlyover its complementary lever D-t'. e., `will not rock said lever.

In connection with the switches C I employ the clock andelectro-mechanical devices illustrated in Figs. l and 2 the said clockand electro-mechanical devices being designed to be located in therailway office or in a locked box placed at any desired point along theline of the railway. The clock, which is of a well known type, comprisesa post a so geared to the clock movement that it will make one completerevolution in twelve hours, and a dial b, preferably of paper,detachably connected to the post a so as to revolve therewith, anddivided into spaces, as shown, each space passing a line extendingradially from the post a in one hour. v

c, (l, e, f y and h are a series of electro-magnets which are providedwith armatures le, each of said armatures being hinged at one end andprovided at its opposite end with a needle Z. The needles pass fromtheir armatures up through the lower of two guide bars m and n; saidbars m and n acting to guide and hold the dial b in position to bepierced by the points of the needles. Each of the electro-magnets isarranged in an electric circuit with a source of electric energy p andone of the switches O, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2, and hence itwill be noted that when the car having a device F arranged to rock thelever D above such particular switch passes in the proper direction overthe casing A, the switch will be closed and the electromagnet energizedto force the needle Z through the dial b.

car mentioned passed over the casing A will be recorded on or in thedial b, and from this it follows that at the end of each period oftwelve hours a person in In this way the time at which the particular Aauthority may by scrutinizing the dial b ascertain the times at whichthe several cars of the railway passed over the casing A, which isobviously materially advantageous. At the expiration ot' the periodstated, the dial b of the clock is replaced with a i'resh dial, when theoperation described will be repeated.

When the casing A is to be located in a city, I preier to provide itwith the cover sections M and M/ illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. The coversection M is fixed to the arms of a swinging bail-shaped frame N whichis carried by a rod P mounted in the casing A as shown. The arms ol theframe N are provided with inwardly extending studs Q, and on one oi saidarms is a lateral stop R ier a purpose presently set forth. The coversection M is provided with arms S which are pivoted at T to the ends oithe casing A, and have arcuate slots U receiving the studs Q oi thetrame N. Between one arm o' the lrame N and a lateral projection V onthe casing A are interposed one or more springs W, the purpose oi whichis to draw the cover section M to a closed position; and when said coversection M is drawn to a closed position, the cover section M will,through the connection described, be moved to a closed position. Thecover section M is assisted in moving to its closed position by a springWf.

For the purpose of automatically opening the cover sections M and M, Iprovide the lever X on one arm of the frame N, and a car device Y, thesaid car device being arranged on the car slightly in advance oi' thecar device F. The lever X is ulcrumed at an intermediate point of itslength on the irame N, and is provided with a comparatively heavy lowerarm which normally rests against the stop R. The car device is pivotedat t and is arranged to normally rest with its upper arm against a stopn.. Thus when the car device is moved in the direction oi the arrow inFig. 3 it will by engaging the upper arm oi' lever X open the coversections and hold said cover sections open while the car device F isrocking its complementary lever D. When, however, the car device ismoved in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow, it willride idly over the lever X and hence will not open the cover sections Mand Mf.

As shown in Fig. 4, the cover sections M M in their closed positionswill exclude the weather from the interior oi the casing A, and at thesame time will efiectually prevent heavy wagons from injuring the gratebars B or any other parts oi the apparatus.

It will be gathered i'rom the foregoing that in addition to theadvantages ascribed to my novel apparatus, the same is simple andinexpensive in construction and is well adapted to withstand the usageto which such apparatus is ordinarily subjected.

The construction herein shown and described constitutes the present andpreferred embodiment oi my invention, but I desire it understood that inpractice such changes in the t'orm, arrangement and construction ofparts may be made as fairly fall within the scope of my invention asclaimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent, is:

1. In a recorder, the combination of a casing adapted for arrangementcrosswise in the bed of a railway and comprising a body and movablecover sections, means for returning the cover sections to and normallyholding the same in a closed position, means on the cover sections ofthe casing arranged to cooperate with means on cars to enable thelatter' means to open the cover sections and hold the same open for alimited period, normally open electric switches arranged in the lowerportion ot the casing body at intervals in the length thereof,vertically swinging, switch closing; levers fulcrumcd at pointsintermediate their ends in the casing body and arranged above and inposition to engage the switches and also arranged to be moved by deviceson passing cars, means for normally holding the said levers in andreturning the same to an upright position, and means whereby when eachelectric switch is closed the vtime of the passing of its complementaryear will be recorded.

2. In a recorder', the combination of a casing adapted for arrangementin the bed of a railway and comprising a body and movable coversections, means for returning the cover sections to and normally holdingthe same in a closed position, a movable device in the casing, a car, adevice on the car for operating the said movable device, and cooperatingmeans on the cover sections of the casing and the car for openingl thecover sections and holding the same open while the car device is movingthe said movable' device in the casing.

In a recording apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination ot'a casing adapted for arrangement in the bed oi a railway and comprisinga body, cover sections, a bail-shaped frame pivoted to the body andhaving arms connected to one cover section and also having studs on saidarms, arms pivoted to the casing and connected to the other cover'section and having slots receiving the studs on the arms of thebail-shaped frame, means for returning the cover sections to andnormally holding the same in a closed position, a car, and cooperatingmeans on the bailshaped frame and the car for opening the cover sectionsas the car passes.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

FRANK GRAZIANO.

Witnesses Cimnnns A. DUCHAMP, J. M. QUINTERO.

